In a chat in the Columbus Dispatch, Aaron Portzline talked about how in 2008 the Columbus Blue Jackets were interested in Wade Redden and told him that money would not be an issue for them.

Redden ended up picking the Rangers and in response to being turned down, the next day the Blue Jackets, in search of defensemen, traded Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the Rangers for Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman.

Portzline writes “Of all the bad luck this club has experienced, that was a huge “WHEW!” moment.”

Glen Sather said at the time that Zherdev was a player the Rangers had been looking at for some time and “the deal kind of fell into our laps.”